KR20140035794A - Method of manufacturing a hook member of a hook-and-loop fastener and a hook member manufactured by the method - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a method for manufacturing a hook member of a hook-and-loop fastener. The method comprises the steps of: providing multiple plastic monofilaments such as polypropylene and monofilament; forming multiple loops at each of the multiple plastic monofilaments to have flat portions between adjacent loops; covering the flat portions with a web of a substrate; conjugating the flat portions with the substrate for fixing the multiple loops on the substrate; and manufacturing a hook member comprising multiple hook elements by converting the multiple loops into multiple hook elements. In addition, provided is a hook-and-loop fastener manufactured thereby. [Reference numerals] (AA) Loop melting process; (BB) Process of cutting the side of a loop; (S1) Providing multiple plastic monofilaments; (S2) Forming a loop at plastic monofilaments; (S3) Preparing a substrate; (S4) Fixing the loop on the substrate; (S5) Changing the loop to a hook

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a hook member of a hook-and-loop fastener, and a hook member manufactured by the method. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to mechanical fasteners, and more particularly, to a method of manufacturing a hook member of a hook and loop fastener and a hook member manufactured by the method.

Hook-and-loop type fasteners are well known mechanical fasteners and due to their easy fastening / loosening properties, there are two separate types of clothing, hats, shoes, personal care products (such as diapers) Are widely used in various fields where it is necessary to join the parts to each other. The hook-and-loop type fastener is mainly composed of a hook member having an array of hooks and a loop member having a plurality of loops to be engaged with hooks of the hook strap.

One of the conventional methods of making hook-and-loop type fastener hook straps is to form a plurality of plastic loops on the fabric substrate with plastic monofilaments knitted and secured to the fabric substrate with weft and warp yarns; A side-cutting process is performed on the plastic loops formed on the substrate to replace the plastic loops with the hook-shaped elements 1 shown in Fig. 1A. Alternatively, instead of performing the side cutting process, thermal melting may be applied to the plastic loops using a heating element to convert the treated loops into hook elements 1 'of the mushroom type shown in FIG. 1B. Operation is performed.

While the above-described conventional knitting methods can produce hook members of hook and loop fasteners, there must be at least three filaments, namely weft, warp and plastic monofilaments, to form and secure hook elements on the substrate, It is a relatively complex and time consuming manufacturing process.

In view of the disadvantages of the above-described conventional hook member manufacturing methods, there is a need for a manufacturing method of manufacturing hook members by forming and securing hook elements on a substrate in a simpler, quicker, and more convenient manner.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a hook member of a hook-and-loop fastener for producing a hook member by forming and securing hook elements on a substrate in a simpler, quicker, and convenient manner.

The object is achieved by a method comprising: providing a plurality of plastic monofilaments; Forming a plurality of loops in each of the plurality of plastic monofilaments such that each of the plurality of plastic monofilaments has planar portions between a plurality of loop portions and adjacent loop portions; Covering planar portions of the plurality of plastic monofilaments with a web of substrate; Bonding flat portions of the plurality of plastic monofilaments to the substrate to secure a plurality of loop portions of the plastic monofilament on the substrate; And converting the plurality of loop portions into a plurality of hook elements to produce a hook member including a plurality of hook elements.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the step of converting the loop portions into the hook elements comprises the steps of: moving the loop portions relative to the loop portions at a predetermined height above the substrate to form the hook elements with hook- And performing a cutting process.

The step of converting the loop portions into hook elements comprises performing a thermal melting process at the end of the loop portions to form hook elements with mushroom-shaped heads.

Wherein providing the plurality of plastic monofilaments comprises providing a plurality of parallel plastic monofilaments with equal spacing to a mold having a plurality of parallel grooves spaced from one another, And extend in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. Wherein forming the plurality of loop portions comprises forming a loop having a plurality of rods aligned corresponding to the grooves so as to form portions lying on the top surface of the mold formed of loop portions and flat portions of the plastic monofilaments, Forming unit, pushing down portions of the plurality of plastic monofilaments placed on top of the plurality of grooves of the mold into corresponding grooves. The step of bonding flat portions of the plurality of plastic monofilaments to the substrate comprises the steps of: bringing the substrate into contact with the mold with a bonding apparatus; applying heat energy or ultrasonic energy to the substrate and the flat portions And joining them to each other.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises a demolding step after the joining step. The molding step further comprises: moving the bonding apparatus away from the mold; Sideways withdrawing the rods of the loop forming device from the grooves; And demolding the substrate from the mold with a plurality of loops formed thereon by a demolding roller. The side cutting process is performed with a blade cutting one side of the loops when the substrate having a plurality of loops formed thereon passes through the de-molding roller. The thermal melting process is performed with a heating device installed across the demolding roller to melt the top of the loops when the substrate with a plurality of loops formed thereon passes through the demolding roller.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a hook member of a hook and loop fastener according to the above-described method.

In addition to the above, the features and objects of the present invention will become apparent by reading the description of the present specification with reference to the accompanying drawings.

According to this embodiment, a method of manufacturing a hook member of a hook and loop fastener can be provided which is simpler, quicker, and more convenient.

For a more complete understanding of the present invention and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1A is a schematic enlarged view showing a hook portion of a hook and loop fastener manufactured according to a conventional knitting method; FIG.
1B is a schematic enlarged view showing a hook portion of a hook and loop fastener manufactured according to another conventional knitting method;
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of manufacturing a hook member of a hook and loop fastener according to the present invention; FIG.
3 is a schematic plan view showing an apparatus for carrying out a method of manufacturing a hook member of a hook and loop fastener according to an embodiment of the present invention; And
4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E and 4F are schematic perspective views showing various steps of a method of manufacturing a hook member of a hook and loop fastener according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing a hook member of a hook-and-loop fastener according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4. FIG.

2 is a flow chart illustrating the steps of a method of manufacturing a hook member of a hook and loop fastener according to the present invention. In step S1, a plurality of monofilaments (F) (such as nylon or polypropylene (PP) monofilaments) are provided. According to the embodiment shown in Figures 3 and 4, a plurality of plastic monofilaments F are provided in parallel and spaced at equal intervals from one another. A plurality of plastic monofilaments F are provided in a mold 10 having a plurality of parallel grooves 12 spaced from each other (see FIG. 4A), and the grooves 12 are formed of plastic monofilaments F ) Extending in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. Next, in step S2, a plurality of monofilaments F are formed into a plurality of loop portions. According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, a loop forming device 20 is used in this loop forming step. The loop forming apparatus 20 forms portions of the plastic filaments F in the grooves 12 as loop portions and forms portions remaining on the upper surface of the mold 10 as flat portions of the plastic filaments F (12) of the mold (10) to push down portions of a plurality of plastic monofilaments placed on top of the grooves (12) of the mold (10) to the corresponding grooves (12) (See FIG. 4B).

Next, in step S3, the web of the substrate B is placed on the upper surface of the mold 10 to cover the flat portions left on the upper surface of the mold 10, as shown in Fig. 4C. Then, in step S4, a fusing device 30 is used to perform a fusing process. Preferably, the bonding apparatus 30 may be an ultrasonic welding device or a thermal welding device. The bonding apparatus 30 is configured to apply ultrasonic energy or heat energy to the substrate B so that the flat portions of the substrate B and the plastic filaments F are melted together to fix the loop portions to the substrate B. And moved to adhere to the substrate B placed on the top of the mold 10 (see Fig. 4D). 4E, the joining device 30 is moved away from the mold 10 and the loop forming device 20 is moved laterally outwardly to pull the rods 22 out of the grooves 12 And ready for the next process cycle. The substrate B on which the plurality of loops are formed is then released from the mold 10 by a de-molding roller 40 (see Fig. 3A or Fig. 3B), as shown in Fig. 4F, At the same time, plastic filaments F for subsequent operations are placed on the mold 10. That is, during the demolding operation, step S1 of the next process cycle is performed simultaneously. Then, steps S2 to S4 are repeated to successively form loops on the substrate (B).

After the substrate B on which the plurality of loops are formed is released from the mold 10, the hook element forming step S5 is performed. According to one embodiment of the present invention, step S5 is a side cutting process of loops. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3A, when the substrate B on which the plurality of loops are formed passes through the de-molding roller 40, each loop is divided into a hook-shaped head and a hook portion having a shorter remaining portion One side of the loops is cut by a blade 50 at a predetermined height above the substrate in order to switch to a loop element (i.e., a hook element). The hook portion and the remainder will fall away from each other during the loop being cut off due to internal stress generated in the loop during the loop forming step so that the remainder will not prevent the hook portion from being fastened to the loops on the loop member of the hook and loop fastener will be.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, step S5 is a melting process of loops. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3B, when a substrate B having a plurality of loops is passed through the demolding roller 40, a heater (not shown) provided in the radial direction opposite to the demolding roller 40, 60 are configured to melt the upper portion of each of the loops to make each of the loops into two hook elements each having a mushroom-shaped head as shown in Figure 3b.

The present invention is completely contrary to the prior art for making hook members of hook-and-loop fasteners. Specifically, in the prior art, the knitting process is to form and secure loops on a substrate, while the present invention utilizes a mold forming process to form loops and a joining / welding process to fix loops to the substrate. Thus, a method of manufacturing a hook member of a hook-and-loop fastener that is simpler, quicker, and more convenient is obtained.

While the present invention has been described in accordance with preferred embodiments of the method and apparatus shown in the accompanying drawings, this does not mean that the scope of the present invention is limited to the specific steps or arrangements of methods and apparatus described above. Indeed, there are many variations and modifications under the principles and ideas described above. For example, the method described in U.S. Patent Application No. 12 / 929,829 may be used to form loops on a substrate.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications are possible in the structure / steps disclosed without departing from the true scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Therefore, the intent of the appended claims is to cover various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

10: Mold 12: Home
20: Loop forming device 22: Load
30: Bonding device 40: Deforming roller
50: blade 60: heater
F: monofilament B: substrate

Claims (12)

Providing a plurality of plastic monofilaments;
Forming a plurality of loops in each of the plurality of plastic monofilaments such that each of the plurality of plastic monofilaments has planar portions between a plurality of loop portions and adjacent loop portions;
Covering planar portions of the plurality of plastic monofilaments with a web of substrate;
Bonding flat portions of the plurality of plastic monofilaments to the substrate to secure a plurality of loop portions of the plastic monofilament on the substrate; And
And converting the plurality of loop portions to a plurality of hook elements to produce a hook member comprising a plurality of hook elements.
The method of claim 1,
The step of converting the loop portions into the hook elements comprises:
And performing a side cutting process on the loop portions at a predetermined height above the substrate to form the hook elements having heads in the form of hooks.
The method of claim 1,
The step of converting the loop portions into hook elements comprises:
And performing a thermal fusion process at its end with respect to the loop portions to form hook elements having mushroom-shaped heads. ≪ Desc / Clms Page number 13 >
4. The method according to claim 2 or 3,
Wherein providing the plurality of plastic monofilaments comprises:
Providing a plurality of equally spaced parallel plastic monofilaments to a mold having a plurality of parallel grooves spaced from each other, said grooves having hook and loop shapes extending in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the plastic monofilaments, A method for manufacturing a hook member of a fastener.
4. The method according to claim 2 or 3,
Wherein forming the plurality of loop portions comprises:
A loop forming apparatus having a plurality of rods aligned corresponding to the grooves for forming portions lying on the upper surface of the mold formed of loop portions and flat portions of the plastic monofilaments, the plurality of grooves of the mold And pushing down portions of the plurality of plastic monofilaments overlying into corresponding grooves.
6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein bonding the flat portions of the plurality of plastic monofilaments to the substrate comprises:
Bonding the substrate to the mold with a bonding device, and bonding the substrate and the flat portions together by applying thermal or ultrasonic energy there;
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the joining device comprises an ultrasonic welder.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the joining device comprises a thermal welder.
The method according to claim 6,
Further comprising a demolding step after the joining step,
Moving the joining device away from the mold;
Sideways withdrawing the rods of the loop forming device from the grooves; And
And demolding the substrate from the mold with a plurality of loops formed thereon by a demolding roller. ≪ Desc / Clms Page number 20 >
The method according to claim 6,
And said side cutting process is performed with a blade for cutting one side of said loops when said substrate having a plurality of loops formed thereon passes said demolding roller.
The method according to claim 6,
The hot melting process is performed with a hook and loop performed by a heating apparatus installed opposite the demolding roller to melt the top of the loops when the substrate having a plurality of loops formed therethrough passes through the demolding roller. Method for manufacturing a hook member of a fastener.
A hook member of a hook and loop fastener manufactured by the method according to claim 1.

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